Heart Disease Survivor Prompts SCAD Research With Social Media

Conversation Between Cardiologist And Heart Disease Survivor Leads To Study

In October 2009, Dr. Sharonne Hayes, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic who focuses on treating women with heart disease, was approached by a woman who’d experienced a rare cardiac condition. This conversation between the two happened at the annual WomenHeart Science & Leadership Symposium at Mayo Clinic. The woman previously had been told that her condition – spontaneous coronary artery dissection, also known as SCAD – was poorly understood, but that she was lucky because she survived. She was desperate for answers for herself and for others who suffered from SCAD.   Dr. Hayes and the woman discussed the possibilities of a study. “I couldn’t not do this study, or at least try. The most powerful motivator was the patient need and my personal connection to this group of women through WomenHeart,” Dr. Hayes says. Today, almost two years later, the results of a pilot study – involving 12 SCAD survivors from four countries using social media – are published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. An accompanying editorial calls the use of social media a “novel solution” to recruit research participants, particularly for rare conditions. A larger study is now open for recruitment.

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To view the news release click here.

Journalists: The following video and audio clips are available for download and use in your post-embargo stories.

Pkg (.mov)   /         Nats Pkg  (.mov)                        Intro/Script   (.doc)

Dr. Sharonne Hayes – 2 Soundbites:  MOV   MP3   /  MOV    MP3     cg:  Mayo Clinic Cardiologist

Dr.  Marysia Tweet – 2 Soundbites:  MOV   MP3   /  MOV    MP3      cg: Mayo Clinic Cardiologist

Lee Aase – 2 Soundbites:  MOV    MP3   /   MOV    MP3    cg: Director, Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media

Animation:   MOV

Read the full article at mayoclinic.org